Shinigami Bocchan to Kuro Maid

As the elegant, frail flower petals wither away into lifeless ashes, the young duke is tragically reminded of the despicable power forced upon him—the ability to kill anything he touches. Scorned by his family, he is sent away to live in near isolation. Fortunately, he is not entirely alone, as the manor's staff—his dutiful butler Rob and the flirtatious maid Alice—keep him company and make his life less miserable.

As the duke's romantic feelings for Alice grow, so does his continued frustration for the limits set by his unfortunate ability. Therefore, he resolves to break the curse cast upon him all those years ago, not only for his sake, but Alice's as well—for he is painfully aware of how difficult it is to avoid the touch of a loved one.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Lendrott, Alice Main

Mano, Ayumi Japanese

Bocchan Main

Hanae, Natsuki Japanese

Cuff Supporting

Kuramochi, Wakana Japanese

Daleth Supporting

Hikasa, Youko Japanese

Zain Supporting

Kamiya, Hiroshi Japanese

Rob Supporting

Ootsuka, Houchuu Japanese

Viola Supporting

Minase, Inori Japanese

Walter Supporting

Uchida, Yuuma Japanese

Sade Supporting

Kaida, Yuuko Japanese

Teto Supporting

Tanabe, Rui Japanese

Cook, Justin Producer

Oowada, Tomoyuki Producer

Kondou, Shuuhou Producer

Itou, Yuukou Producer

Reviews

Sep 19, 2021

Stark700

Recommended

Imagine living with a beautiful maid everyday who serves you, pleases you, and wants to be with you at all times. The only problem? You can't touch her. It almost sounds appaling but that is the fate of Bocchan, a noble man who suffers a curse where he kills anything he touches.

When I heard news of the manga getting the anime adaptation, it wasn't a bit surprising. It's one of the most popular manga from Sunday Webry and contains a premise that is suitable for a fantasy rom-com. With the manga running over 190 chapters, it also seems clear the anime doesn't have enough ... time to cover everything. Yet here we are, with a 12-episode adaptation. Created by Koharu Ikami, it is their only work yet shows that the author wanted us to experience the life of a noble and his maid.

Watching The Duke of Death and His Maid is about as simple as it sounds. At its core, it's about the relationship of the duke (Bocchan) and his maid, Alice. As a timid man lacking social experience, Bocchan has difficulty making friends or expressing his thoughts around others. This becomes a troubling experience and running gag throughout the show. Why? That's because his maid Alice just absolutely loves to tease him at every single chance she gets. With her lascivious body and flirtious personality, Alice tests the limits of his curse. In various episodes, she often gets Bocchan to the point where he ends up being speechless. While most of these scenes are lighthearted and humorous, we have to remember that this is also a punishment for him. Remember, Bocchan can't touch Alice or anyone due to his curse. And it's a traversty.

As we learn to understand more of Bocchan and Alice's relationship, we also meet others such as Rob, Viola, Walter, Zain, and Caph. These characters are intergrated into the show as a way to show the aristocratic lives of the cast. Most of them are protrayed in a Victorian way that adheres to the show's common themes. Characters such as Rob and Walter represents the gentleman stereotype. Others such as Viola and Caph has a more self assertive personality who speaks their thoughts confidentally around others. But perhaps distinguishable character is Zain. He has the head of a bird with a playful personality, who can easily get around others. It's an unorthodox addition to the cast who perhaps represent freedom. He always behaves with an open mind and freely expresses himself around others. From the show's viewpoint, you'll soon realize these characters exist there to be themselves and their roles. They're not there to further the duke and his maid's relationship. To me, that's an example of creative writing in establishing characters in their own unique roles. Unfortunately, this season didn't prepare enough to fully develop them. Let's face it, the anime is only 12 episodes and 190+ chapters is far more than a 1-cour show can handle.

But the more I watched this anime, the more I realized why this show is a fantasy rom-com. It aims to flesh out Bocchan and Alice's relationship as much as possible without them becoming an official couple. Of course, this has a valid reason because of the curse. However, Alice's personalty goes deeper than just what we see. She truly cares about Bocchan beyond her flirtious facade and through some flashbacks, we can see that she was a vulnerable young girl. What's also fascinating about Alice is her lack of fear despite knowing Bocchan's curse. This is due to her immense trust in him. In fact, their relationship is built on trust from the very start. She never fears to be near Bocchan and always puts on a happy smile. If anything, she is perhaps Bocchan's savior and his personal hero.

Admittedly, I did approach this show with a sense of trepidation. That's because the promotional material contained CGI quality material. And for a rom-com like this, that hardly qualifies as encouraging news. Luckily I believe the CGI ultimately doesn't deteriorate the quality of the anime although I do wish J.C. Staff took a more traditional approach at animating the show. On the other hand, Alice is decorated with an alluring figure. Dressed as a maid in goth-like clothing, she has lavish blonde hair and crystal blue eyes representing her beauty. It's no wonder why Bocchan gets so nervous when she comes near him.

It's a not uncommon trend for a maid and her master to fall in love in fiction stories. From this story, we witness the unorthodox relationship of Bocchan and Alice. It's easy to accept their relationship but hard to understand it completely. That's where the anime needs improvement and it became obvious the length of the show isn't enough. Still, I do recommend The Duke of Death and His Maid, especially if you're a fan of rom-coms. This is a show that just loves to be what it is.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Sep 8, 2023

RegalFlare

Mixed Feelings

I generally really enjoy the story. The manga is amazing, but this is an odd adaptation.
The intro and outro songs are really good. Will add to music play list later.
The thing that kills it for me is the animation. It is unfortunately CGI and it's a bit garring at times. Its feels like I'm waiting for the cutscene in a video game to be over. The CGI is distracting. The movements of the characters are sometimes really uncanny and not normal. How is it that the background characters are animated in 2D, and the main characters are in CGI? Its normally the other ... way around, but ok. The backgrounds are really odd too. They are trying to give the backgrounds a texture like an oil painting on and canvas. While it can work in other shows, it doesn't work here. It clashes with the CGI characters.

Honestly if you like the story, just read the manga. It's so much better.

Side note- At least the CGI is better than RWBY's. This was way more palatable than that hot garbage.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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May 31, 2025

Ninatard

Not Recommended

At first, the CGI might make you not want to watch it—but trust me, it’s not that bad. The characters still show emotions well, and they actually look pretty nice too.

There’s a lot of fanservice in this anime. Alice, the maid, always flirts and teases Viktor in a sexual way. Some people might like that. There’s also a young girl who has a crush on an older man (Minor x Dilf), but it happens so much that it gets boring. The show also has things like childhood love and romantic teasing.

The story is interesting, but it moves slowly. Most of season 1 is about world-building ... and learning about the characters’ current lives. There are a lot of repeated jokes like boob slaps, sexual teasing, and a little sister being obsessed with Rob, which can get annoying. Some characters show up without much explanation, and their reasons for staying with the main character feel silly or too simple.

But near the end of the season, the story starts to move forward. We learn more about Viktor’s curse, which makes things more exciting. Still, the plot is pretty basic and not very deep yet.

What really makes this show nice to watch is the vibe—the sweet love between Viktor and Alice, the family moments, and how the characters care for each other. The music is also very good. The piano and singing give an old-school and emotional feeling.

Final thoughts:

Watch this anime if you want to see:
• Cute young love
• Sweet bonding moments
• Funny and romantic teasing
• Chill, slice-of-life vibes

Don’t watch it just for the plot—at least not yet. But the show has potential, and season 2 might be more exciting.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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Sep 19, 2021 7:20 AM by DatRandomDude | Discuss (27 comments)

	Poll: Shinigami Bocchan to Kuro Maid Episode 4 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Stark700 - Jul 25, 2021	53 replies	by someoneverycool »» Yesterday, 6:14 PM
	Poll: Shinigami Bocchan to Kuro Maid Episode 5 Discussion Stark700 - Aug 1, 2021	49 replies	by pachapacha »» Jun 15, 9:05 AM
	Is this worth watching? phantom346 - May 18	16 replies	by thepilotluna »» May 20, 7:53 AM
	Poll: Shinigami Bocchan to Kuro Maid Episode 1 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 ) Stark700 - Jul 4, 2021	167 replies	by BlueSnow93 »» May 1, 9:25 PM
	Poll: Shinigami Bocchan to Kuro Maid Episode 12 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Stark700 - Sep 19, 2021	92 replies	by bzindograu »» May 1, 6:20 PM